Stock Photography

A small sampling of my most recent stock photos on 123RF, one of 4 sites my stock photos are available for download for a fee.....Of the many genres in photography, I enjoy doing macro and landscape photography for stock, black and white street/documentary photography/medium format film for me.

Microstock photography business is rather different in that photos that sell well may not be the most awe inspiring ones, and you don't really need 20 megapixel DSLR to start. Rather, buyers look for images that can used on their blogs, ad brochure, print media, book cover to illustrate a point, convey a message. They often will do additional post processing work, cropping out something they don't want, merging with another photo to make a collage. It is more important to have a crisp sharp shot, where point of focus is well thought out. I highly recommend if you are doing macro photography to always use a sturdy tripod. Although good stock photos are often isolated in white, they don't always have to be so as you can see from my screenshot below. I always keep a small journal and collect photo ideas from magazines before I throw them away, I find that very useful when I am searching for ideas.



To go to my 123RF stock photo page, click here

register at 123RF as buyer/contributor

Need a cool gift? check out my CafePress stores:
zzArt
zzGraphicArt
zzKitchenArt

Stock Photo Tear Sheet

Now this first one (left) I am pretty excited about, the cover of a magazine !!! something to do with Spanish debt and the looming Euro sovereign debt crisis. This was a shot I took early morning in Playa del rey. Varsity canoe teams were having their Saturday morning practice and I caught them in action going down Balboa Creek canal.

The second photo below (top right) came from a trip to Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills a few years back. Trendy shoppers and fancy boutiques make for good photos. I managed to shoot quite a few stock worthy photos, and many made it to web pages and travel sites.

It is much easier to find one's photos these days. Google recently added a pretty cool Image Search feature, one only has to drag a photo and drop into the search box and viola, a list of links where that image is used appears. Superb tool! It allows a photographer to find where an image is being used quickly (hopefully the image had been downloaded and paid for and used within licensing guidelines). It also makes it easier to check if the image might be used without permission. Using this new Google Image search feature, I have been able to find where my images are used and save the links and screen shots for my own reference.

This last one below was from a more recent shoot, a simple make shift studio set up, with daylight bulbs and shades I bought from Home Depot. It was one of those days, I was looking for things to shoot, and have been staring at the measuring tape on my writing desk (mustard yellow in color, can't remember where I got it from though)... Hunting for a second object from my kitchen to make a theme, I settled on a large measuring round spoon...and an image was born.


Have had over 2000 downloads from three stock photo sites since I started doing stock photography, not too shabby I suppose. Seeing where an image is used (or could be used) and the context in which it is used gives me good feedback, and makes me a better stock photographer. Has the income paid for my camera equipment you ask? Not just yet, getting close though and I have stopped buying more equipment so I can get caught up (if my equipment does not break down before then). I have a modest set up, Canon 10D, a good macro, medium telephoto lens and wide angle lens, tripod, home made studio light set up and some accessories, I prefer natural/subtle light.

Mother and Child at the Beach

I remember this day vividly. It was a gorgeous summer day in southern California. I was up early that day, my camera backpack was there all packed ready to go. I always enjoy spending a few hours on weekend driving along the beautiful coast, stopping to take pictures. A peaceful quiet morning on Pacific Coast Highway (fondly called PCH), only bright jersey clad cyclists and a few fancy cars on the road. It was still early, traffic usually does not pick up on PCH on a Sunday morning until after 10 o'clock. My Sunday routine would conclude with a stroll on the boardwalk at the pier in Santa Monica, a cuppa of morning latte in my hand.

It was indeed a glorious day at the pier. Southern California is blessed with many days like this. It was a refreshing morning walk and one that rejuvenates my soul. As I walk along the boardwalk, I saw a mother and child, beach towels in hand, ready to spend a blissful day together. It was a beautiful scene, a series of shots which I would later capture with my Canon 10D and 70-200 f/4L zoom. Below is one of them available for sale on BigStock


Buy this image of mine at Bigstock

It was a very endearing picture that warms my heart....a young girl and her mommy enjoying a day at the beach together. No TV, no electronic games, just sand castles and each other. After a few minutes, the young girl was happy the towel no longer has any sand, she put the towel down on her mommy and gave her mommy a big hug......

Online Gallery and CafePress

I have made a change to where I host my photography, I decided to give ClusterShot a try. Why? I like the professional look and the watermark tool that comes with the Pro Account. The site looks professional, simple and easy to navigate (no print/print shop tie up though, something to consider if that is important to you). Storefront features are still a little bare bone at this juncture being a new site. The photographer sets the selling price and, hopefully ClusterShot do a lot of marketing and get pageviews and buyers to the site. For me, it is a place to showcase some of my work. On my part, the gallery links on my blog will help drive traffic to my storefront. I have only just joined, so this in some ways is still a test drive. So far so good, and yes, I closed my account at Smugmug (no major reason that prompted my decision but the simple look and feel of ClusterShot fits my need better).

If you want to check it out ClusterShot, here is a link to my ClusterShot gallery

Now, onto other avenues to sell one's work. I have had a store on CafePress for some time now, never gotten around to updating it with my latest images since setting it up. Occasionally there would be a sale or two here and there, nothing to shout about but it always puts a smile on my face each time. It is nice someone likes my photography enough to want to buy something with my photography on it:) Most folks found them through web searches, perhaps for a specific gift for someone or for themselves, a unique T-shirt, sweat shirt or a cotton tote bag (my favorite). Here are two of my own favorites:
CafePress link
I have always loved everything cotton, T's, totes. I find them comfortable and durable. This preference is probably rooted since childhood growing up in Southeast Asia. With day time temperature often in the high 90s if one is not standing in the shade, a cotton T-shirt keeps the sweltering heat at bay and one's body cool whether rain or shine. I recalled while we were on our sailboat anchoring in Bahia Santa Maria on the Baja coast, we exchanged some old T-shirts (we did not have any new ones barter) for 3 fresh gigantic lobsters from the Baja fishermen (they never tasted so good). So I am old fashioned, I treasure my comfy cotton t's until they are totally worn out. Also, cotton is a natural material, so it is more bio-degradeble and better for the environment than many man made synthetic material we clothe ourselves in today.

CafePress Link
Anyway, not to digress. Back to stock photography. Things have been a little tumultous of late, small sites getting acquired by the big guys and even smaller ones had disappeared as recession hit severely affecting demand for stock photos by the advertisers and web designers. Many saw their income from stock photography sites stagnant and some saw significant reduction. However, it is a good time to bury deep and perfect one's craft, tighten's one photography portfolio, by that I mean focus on a genre or two one excels in and be really good at it. Most important of all, I think enjoy doing photography. Used equipment have gotten much cheaper of late. I found myself acquiring an extra camera equipment or accessory here and there like in the case of the RB67 ProSD camera set for a mere $280. Finally it does not hurt to explore new avenues to sell one's photos, whether that is on CafePress, ImageKind, Etsy, Blurb, or a host of others.


Click here to go to my online gallery at ClusterShot

Last but not least, it is important to have a website/an online gallery to showcase one's work if one could find a reasonably priced deal. It all depends on your needs and the message you want to communicate, whether you do this for a living or as a hobby. In my case, ClusterShot works for me and so I decided to use the site to show my photography.

A Slow Day

Today is one of those days when my mind is blank, figuratively speaking. I jumped out of bed this morning wanting to make today a productive one but it has been slow. This always happens when my schedule is turned upside down due to something I can't control - "external circumstances". - the rain and lots of it this past week in western Washington. There was so much rain for 3 days and I mean steady rain for 72 hours, ponds appeared all around the apartment. It was as if we had a monsoon rain that refused to go away. We had planned to drive south to the Bay Area yesterday evening but a 20 mile stretch of I-5 between Olympia and Portland was shut down late Wednesday due to heavy flooding. It had only just re-opened Thursday evening. Needless to say it is congested as traffic had backed up while people waited out the storm. Our schedule would only permit that we drive during the weekend so we decided that instead of turning the 12 hour journey into a 16 hour one, we shall make the trip next weekend instead.

I am so ready for sunshine, can't wait to go out to the coast in California to do some photography. I also have a Programming class at Stanford that is starting Tuesday which I will have to skip and I hate skipping class. The cold in the Pacific Northwest does not bother me as much as the rain and overcast sky. The gloomy weather does take much getting used to.

Now some happy thoughts:
Photo downloads at the start of the year has picked up, hopefully that is a sign of what 2009 will bring. I could be overly optimistic here given the depressed economic climate. I was able to pen down a rather long list of topics for my articles while sitting in a Starbucks last week. The story of the children's book I plan to write is taking shape- finally. I can't wait to learn some studio lighting techniques, that will be the best investment I ever make.